Glaucoma is a disease characterized by high intraocular pressure (IOP) sufficient to cause either temporary or permanent impairment of vision. The rise in IOP might be due to increased rate of aqueous formation, decreased rate of out flow, or raised pressure in the draining episcleral veins. An obstruction to the circulation of the aqueous at the pupil or to its drainage through the angle of the anterior chamber causes glaucoma. The normal IOP of an individual ranges from 20-30 mm Hg and can rise up to 60 to 70 mm of Hg in glaucoma patients. Raised IOP of this magnitude can result in loss of vision by causing damage to retinal nerve fibers. Optic nerve axons of the eyeball become compressed at the optic disc due to elevated IOP. This compression probably blocks the axonal flow of cytoplasm from the neuronal cell bodies in the retina to the extended optic nerve fibers entering the brain. This results in lack of nutrition of fibers and ultimately causes death of the neurons. Compression of retinal artery may increase the neuronal damage due to reduction in retinal nutrition. Thus reduction of IOP is an effective means for curing Glaucoma.
Prompt and effective management of glaucoma is necessary to reduce the incidence of cases of bilateral blindness due to progressive glaucoma. Biological revolution in medicine has provided new avenues for therapeutic intervention. Newer and innovative treatment strategies are being considered for the control of raised intraocular pressure (IOP) by the use of synthetic and herbal drugs in glaucoma. Herbal drugs are preferred to the synthetic drugs as they are economic, non toxic and safe. Moreover, in a sensitive organ like eye, a safer herbal formulation is preferred to a synthetic formulation.
There are some synthetic drugs used in the treatment of glaucoma like Latanoprost, Timolol, Brimonidine, Travoprost, Bimaprost, Pilocarpine etc. which can decrease aqueous production in the ciliary body or increase aqueous humor outflow through the trabecular meshwork or uveoscleral pathway but on long term use these agents cause side effects like bradycardia, tachyphylaxis, blurred vision, pigmentation etc, apart from their high cost of therapy. Some plants have been reported in the ancient literature for ophthalmic use but there are no scientific data on them. No herbal formulation is available for the treatment of glaucoma in the market. Hence an objective of the present invention is to provide a herbal formulation effective for the treatment of glaucoma.